They’ve been “this good” for the past year really. Since Emery’s arrival, they’ve been great. Though they won today, their away form has been poor, but at Villa Park, they look unbeatable.

If they go on like this, they will secure a Europa League finish at the least and could even get a good shout for finishing in the top 4 come the end of the season.

They have decent squad depth and if Spurs’ injury crisis worsens and continues, who knows? Unai Emery’s boys might be playing UCL next season.

That would honestly be great to see. Happy for them if they do make it.

Offensively speaking you’re right but not defensively. They’ve leaked goals quite badly and when I’ve watched a few Fulham matches, I’ve felt like their midfield becomes too open at times. Like the article rightly points out more specifically - opponents find space between the midfield and defensive lines.

Agreed. They severely overperformed. I was actually quite surprised by looking at the xg vs xga graph in the article. I didn’t think it was that bad.

Mount was great two seasons ago but since then he declined immensely. I was a big fan of Mount myself and I hoped he’d stay but the club decided to move quickly and find another creative player.

And so far, when comparing Mount’s (few) performances at United so far, it does seem that we have likely made the correct decision.

As for Havertz, he did not play in his best position at Chelsea but he is playing as a 10 at Arsenal and not doing well either. So after years of underperformance (especially when it came to finishing and creativity), it was the right move to make.

Enzo is up there at Chelsea too, but he isn’t being played as high as Palmer to be more influential. Check the article again, Palmer slightly overperforms him.

And I clearly mentioned before that I’m talking about creativity through passing, Sterling does that through dribbles. However, I do agree, Sterling has been really good this season and still hasn’t got much attention which I believe he should get too.

Point being, none of this takes away from Palmer’s solid start to his career - something many Chelsea players recently struggled to do in the beginning of their careers.

When he came to Chelsea that was the expectation. Though he was never that type of a player, it is hard to tell what kind of a player he is at all to be honest. A second striker is the best shout.

Yeah sure the four penalties help his popularity among the fanbase but I’m really unsure how you’ve missed Palmer’s contributions. He’s been the most creative Chelsea player with his passing and that is immense for a side that has lacked it for years.

If you watched the match against Brentford, then you would’ve seen how Palmer unlocked their low block on numerous occasions.

And that is just one match. He’s done it many times in most if not all of his games so far.

To your point about the article praising basic things, aren’t all things in football basic? It’s the fact that you do it at a high level. If this was so basic, why did Havertz and Mount struggle to produce the same.

Yeah, I agree when you say that Palmer is what we thought Havertz would be. But he was never that sort of a player in the first place. But to be fair, since his move to the PL, no manager has been able to figure that out either.

What I’ve been most impressed by Palmer is his attitude on and off the pitch. There are several reports of him working hard to settle at Chelsea and let us please put into context that he is just 21.

There would have been pressure on him too like any other player that moves to Chelsea but he has really impressed everyone.

Good for him. I hope he can deliver in the long term.

On a side note, the upgrade from Havertz and Mount is ridiculous. He is clearly the player they’ve been wanting since ages.

Yep but their tactics are still similar, so I thought it’d be relevant.

I think it is because Everton ceded possession to West Ham, who don’t play that well when they have the ball.

For teams like Chelsea and Manchester United, I think this makes complete sense.

They’ve had a horrid start to the season and it is likely that neither team will make the top 4. So, a good cup run, although it is only the League Cup, will help lift the mood because it is a trophy nonetheless.

Even if they put on a decent run to the semi-finals or even final, I think it’ll undoubtedly help in raising morale.

Well, I think it depends on the personnel in the team.

For example, KDB and Foden are playing as 10s/8s because they have a solid defensive structure in place in the form of Rodri and their situational back three.

However, certain teams that can be vulnerable in transition would not be able to do that. I think a good example is United as you’ve pointed out. At least, they aren’t in a good position right now until Varane, Martinez, and Amrabat return to full fitness.

But I am still open to the possibility that certain managers just decide not to or they think that a player cannot play that position.

I think Chelsea are trying to build an identity that will take time to resonate with the fans. The squad has been built from scratch. Most of the players are just gelling together - especially the forward line.

As a Chelsae fan myself, I know that the fanbase has given a lot of time for the club. However, unfortunately, I think the fans need to be more patient with this young squad. Poch needs to work with his team, and might I add, a fully fit squad.

Until then, these results will continue. And that is the unfortunate truth.